The effect of using the drum detachers in the industrial wheat flour mills

The work is concerned with the effects of applying the drum detachers as flake disrupters in industrial wheat flour mills. The stocks entering and leaving the drum detachers applied on the different reduction passages in two industrial mills were intercepted and employed in the experiments. The changes in the flour release and flour ash content were followed. The results show that the drum detachers are effective in disrupting the flakes formed in the smooth roller mills grinding zone. However, the contribution of the drum detachers to the overall milling efficiency is in close correlation with the nature of the formed flakes. If the flakes are primarily composed of endosperm particles, the employment of drum detacher results in a statistically significant increase of the flour yields without deterioration of flour quality. If flakes, formed on the end passages of the reduction system, contain large portion of branny particles, the increase of the flour ash content following the drum detacher is statistically significant. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 031014

The effects of solvents and structure on the electronic absorption spectra of the isomeric pyridine carboxylic acid N-oxides

The ultraviolet absorption spectra of the carboxyl group of three isomeric pyridine carboxylic acids N-oxides (picolinic acid N-oxide, nicotinic acid N-oxide and isonicotinic acid N-oxide) were determined in fourteen solvents in the wavelength range from 200 to 400 nm. The position of the absorption maxima (λmax) of the examined acids showed that the ultraviolet absorption maximum wavelengths of picolinic acid N-oxide are the shortest, and those of isonicotinic acid N-oxide acid are the longest. In order to analyze the solvent effect on the obtained absorption spectra, the ultraviolet absorption frequencies of the electronic transitions in the carboxylic group of the examined acids were correlated using a total solvatochromic equation of the form max = v0 + sπ + aα+ bβ, where υmax is the absorption frequency (1/λmax), p is a measure of the solvent polarity, β represents the scale of solvent hydrogen bond acceptor basicities and α represent the scale of solvent hydrogen bond donor acidities. The correlation of the spectroscopic data was carried out by means of multiple linear regression analysis. The solvent effects on the ultraviolet absorption maximums of the examined acids were discussed

Bird observations in Severnaya Zemlya, Siberia

Fieldwork in different parts of Severnaya Zemlya in 1985, 1991, 1992 and 1993 and aerial surveys in 1994 revealed a limited bird fauna with a total of 17 breeding species. The most numerous breeding birds are cliff-nesting seabirds, comprising little auk (Alle alle), 10 000-80 000 pairs; kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), 5000-10 000; black guillemot (Cepphus grylle), 1000-5000; ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea), 1000-2000; and glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus), 500-1000. They breed all over the archipelago, usually in rather small mixed- or single-species colonies. Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) 100-500, and herring gull (Larus argentatus) 1-10, breed as solitary pairs or with a few pairs together. Of tundra birds, only brent goose (Branta bernicla), purple sandpiper (Calidris maritima) and snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) are found breeding on most of the major islands. The other tundra species-red-throated diver (Gavia stellata), king eider (Somateria spectabilis), sanderling (Calidris alba), Arctic skua (Stercorarius parasiticus), long-tailed skua (Stercorarius longicaudus), snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca) and Lapland bunting (Calcarius lapponicus)-breed in small numbers and in limited areas, often not every year. Of the even fewer mammal species, reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) occurs occasionally, while Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) and collared lemming (Dicrostonyx torquatus) are locally common in some years

Controlled Colloidal Synthesis and Basic Electrochemical Properties of TiO2-Supported Pt

TiO2 was synthesized by forced hydrolysis process in order to be used as the support for Pt electrocatalyst (Pt/TiO2). Pt was deposited from Pt colloid solution synthesized by microwave-assisted polyol process. TiO2 powder (or C) was dispersed into H2O and 2 M H2SO4. The obtained suspension was stirred and Pt colloid was added afterwards. Upon filtration and rinsing with water, the obtained Pt/TiO2 (or Pt/C) catalyst was thermally treated at 160 C in N2 atmosphere. The catalyst water suspension for the preparation of 0.31 mg/cm2 thin layer electrode was loaded onto glassy carbon disk. Physical and chemical properties of the TiO2 and supported Pt catalyst were characterized by EDS, SEM, dynamic light scattering and XRD techniques. The influence of TiO2 thermal treatment on the electrochemical properties of Pt/TiO2 was also checked. Nominal Pt loading was 20 wt. %. EDS method revealed 18 wt. % loading of Pt on TiO2. The electrochemical properties of the Pt/TiO2 were examined by cyclic voltammetry in 0.1 M HClO4. The obtained results were compared with those obtained for carbon-supported Pt under the same conditions (Figure 1). The charge corresponding to the hydrogen desorption on Pt/TiO2 is lower than expected for 20 wt. % Pt. Although the voltammetric response is typical for Pt-based electrode material, the charge corresponds only to ~3 wt. % Pt. SEM images showed that TiO2 particles tend to form 3μm-sized agglomerates of ellipsoidal shape. The results indicate the possibility for platinum particles to be trapped inside TiO2 agglomerates. Even though calcination of TiO2 improved the Pt uptake from colloidal dispersion, it is still not as effective as commercial carbon support.June 07-11, 2015, Pravets, Bulgari

Application of Peleg Model on Mass Transfer Kinetics During Osmotic Dehydratation of Pear Cubes in Sucrose Solution

The applicability of Peleg model was investigated for predicting mass transfer kinetics during the osmotic dehydration (OD) process of pears, at different concentrations (40, 60 and 70%, w/w) and temperatures (20, 35 and 50 degrees C) of sucrose solution. Increase in sucrose solution concentration resulted in higher water loss (WL) and solid gain (SG) values through the osmotic treatment period. After 360 min of osmotic treatment of pears, WL ranged from 23.71 to 31.68% at 20 degrees C, from 24.80 to 40.38% at 35 degrees C and from 33.30 to 52.07% at 50 degrees C of initial weight of pears. The increase of dry mass of the samples, SG, after 360 min of osmotic treatment ranged from 3.02 to 6.68% at 20 degrees C, from 4.15 to 7.71% at 35 degrees C and from 5.00 to 8.92% at 50 degrees C. Pelegs rate constants, k(1)(WL) and k(1)(SG), decreased with increasing temperature, as well as decreased with increasing concentration of osmotic solution at constant temperature. Both capacity constants k(2)(WL) and k(2)(SG) also exhibited the inverse relationship between capacity constant and temperature, as well as concentration of the osmotic solution. Pelegs rate constants for WL and SG at all temperatures followed an Arrhenius type relationship. The predicted equilibrium values were very close to experimental ones, which was confirmed with high coefficients of determination and by the residual analysis

Aridity in the central and southern Pannonian basin

For the investigation of geographical, monthly, seasonal, and annual distributions of aridity and its annual trend in the region of the Central and Southern Pannonian Basin (CSPB), which includes the territories of Hungary and Vojvodina (Northern Serbia), the De Martonne Aridity Index (DMAI) was used. The DMAI was originally calculated from a total of 78 meteorological stations with the maximum available time series of climatological data in three cases: 1931–2017 for Hungary; 1949–2017 for Vojvodina; and 1949–2017 for Hungary and Vojvodina jointly. The Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) was used to control the DMAI results. Temperature and precipitation trends were also investigated to understand their effects on the aridity trend. Three aridity types are distinguished on the annual level, five on the seasonal level, and four on the monthly level. The annual aridity had no trends in all three periods. It seems that aridity can be considered a more stable climate indicator of climate change than the temperature, at least in the CSPB. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Identifying a network of priority areas for conservation in the Arctic seas: Practical lessons from Russia

Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The natural environment of the Arctic is changing rapidly owing to climate change. At the same time in many countries including Russia the region is attracting growing attention of decision-makers and business communities. In light of the above it is necessary to protect the biodiversity of the regional marine ecosystems in the most effective way possible, namely by establishing a network of marine protected areas. Identifying conservation priority areas is a key step towards this goal. To achieve it, a study based on a systematic conservation planning approach was conducted. An expanded group of experts used the MARXAN algorithm to produce initial results, then discussed and refined them to select 47 conservation priority areas in the Russian Arctic seas. The resulting network covers nearly 25% of the Russian Arctic seas, which guarantees proportional representation of their biodiversity as well as achieving connectivity, sustainability and naturalness. This was largely made possible by the selected methodology, based on the MARXAN decision support tool supplemented by extensive post-analysis that helped fill any gaps inevitable in the formal approach. Although available data were sparse, and of varying quality and a single regionalization scheme could not be used (as is often the case for such areas), the selected approach has proven successful for such a large area that covers both the coastal zone and parts of the High Seas. Such an approach could be used further to identify marine protected areas throughout the Arctic Ocean

Six pelagic seabird species of the North Atlantic engage in a fly-and-forage strategy during their migratory movements

Funding Information: We thank all the fieldworkers for their hard work collecting data. Funding for this study was provided by the Norwegian Ministry for Climate and the Environment, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association along with 8 oil companies through the SEATRACK project (www. seapop. no/ en/ seatrack). Fieldwork in Norwegian colonies (incl. Svalbard and Jan Mayen) was supported by the SEAPOP program (www.seapop.no, grant no. 192141). The French Polar Institute (IPEV project 330 to O.C.) supported field operation for Kongsfjord kittiwakes. The work on the Isle of May was also supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (Award NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCaPE programme delivering National Capability). We thank Maria Bogdanova for field support and data processing. Finally, we thank 3 anonymous reviewers for their help improving the first version of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Six pelagic seabird species of the North Atlantic engage in a fly-and-forage strategy during their migratory movements

Bird migration is commonly defined as a seasonal movement between breeding and non-breeding grounds. It generally involves relatively straight and directed large-scale movements, with a latitudinal change, and specific daily activity patterns comprising less or no foraging and more traveling time. Our main objective was to describe how this general definition applies to seabirds. We investigated migration characteristics of 6 pelagic seabird species (little auk Alle alle, Atlantic puffin Fratercula arctica, common guillemot Uria aalge, Brünnich’s guillemot U. lomvia, black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla and northern fulmars Fulmarus glacialis). We analysed an extensive geolocator positional and saltwater immersion dataset from 29 colonies in the North-East Atlantic and across several years (2008-2019). We used a novel method to identify active migration periods based on segmentation of time series of track characteristics (latitude, longitude, net-squared displacement). Additionally, we used the saltwater immersion data of geolocators to infer bird activity. We found that the 6 species had, on average, 3 to 4 migration periods and 2 to 3 distinct stationary areas during the non-breeding season. On average, seabirds spent the winter at lower latitudes than their breeding colonies and followed specific migration routes rather than non-directionally dispersing from their colonies. Differences in daily activity patterns were small between migratory and stationary periods, suggesting that all species continued to forage and rest while migrating, engaging in a ‘fly-and-forage’ migratory strategy. We thereby demonstrate the importance of habitats visited during seabird migrations as those that are not just flown over, but which may be important for re-fuelling.publishedVersio